AC Milan’s unbeaten streak was ended by Parma at San Siro on Sunday, and now the Scudetto dream has probably vanished for good.
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As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report, Massimiliano Allegri’s pre-match calculation was that Milan needed to win 12 of their last 13 games to catch Inter and win the title. After losing to Parma, that means they need 36 points out of 36, with the defeat permitted already gone.
Either Inter suddenly collapses, or the Scudetto race is virtually over as of yesterday. The loss against the Gialloblu drops Milan to ten points behind the Nerazzurri and could reopen the fight for a top four spot yet, all after the 2-2 draw in Parma earlier in the season too.
Add to this Gabbia’s warm-up injury and the nasty Loftus-Cheek collision that led to him being stretchered off in a neck brace, nothing went right on the night for Milan.
No striker
It’s easy to revisit the topic of a small Milan against lower-ranking teams, with the points dropped against Genoa, Sassuolo and Parma in the first round, Pisa and Cremonese (Sunday’s opponents), but this is a limitation of the project.
If the goal was to chase Inter and fight until the end – especially since there are no other competitions to think about – it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to put aside some hesitation. In essence, a striker could have been fielded and the 3-5-2 ditched, to combat Parma’s 5-3-2 deep block.
Carlos Cuesta’s move was interesting: Bernabé on the right of midfield, part centre-back, part attacking midfielder, with the effect of moving Strefezza to the left and leaving Pellegrino in the centre against De Winter (a starter due to Gabbia’s withdrawal during the warm-up).
In their last six games at San Siro, the Rossoneri have defeated Verona and Lecce, while they have drawn with Sassuolo, Genoa and Como, and now have lost to Parma. This is not a streak that wins a league title.
Juventus are eight points behind, but watch out for Atalanta and Como, who are attempting to gate crash the top four. Parma defended well: Keita in front of the defence stopped everyone, while the three central defenders fight for every ball.
Milan limited themselves to shots from distance here and there, and some small tweaks. Rabiot started on the left, moved to the right with Jashari, then returned to his preferred position. Modric sometimes pushed up behind Leao and Pulisic, other times dropping back in front of the defence.
Punished for wasting chances
The paper state that Leao playing down the middle is ‘a waste’ because the Portuguese is a winger who must dribble down the flank, while as a 9 he’s less mobile and more easily marked. Milan missed three big chances to make it an easier night, too.
In the first half, a nice move from Bartesaghi found Rabiot, who passed to Pulisic who narrowly missed the target from the centre. Early in the second half, Pulisic was again blocked by Troilo. Finally, Leao hit the post, with the ball going across the goal line.
There’s an element of bad luck in the three moves, but it’s also clear that Pulisic was the most dangerous until he came off for Füllkrug. The rules aren’t against fielding the German before the second half, and his introduction did finally give the attack a focal point.
The final 4-2-3-1 formation to recover from the deficit seems a bit desperate. In the 35th minute, Troilo leapt over Bartesaghi on a corner and heads the ball in. Piccinini disallows it, but after a lengthy VAR review, he changed his mind.
Milan are irritated to say the least: they believe that Maignan was blocked by a man not even remotely interested in playing the ball, and Troilo climbed all over Bartesaghi’s back. Even still, they failed to score, so it cannot be the excuse.
When there’s no clear game plan, and the ball moves slowly and horizontally. Only individuals can turn things around, but even individuals betray. Rabiot was not at his best, De Winter struggled against Pellegrino, Saelemaekers faded after a couple of his team-mates’ crosses.
Estupiñan was ‘useless’ on the left, resulting in Bartesaghi being moved to the back three when a more convincing attacking move could have been devised. Finally, Modric was so-so; he can’t always conjure up magic and, in any case, he’s committed to defending.
Leao was inconsistent, occasionally jeered, but at least dangerous when he did get on the ball. And on Sunday it is Cremonese-Milan: is it reasonable to expect anything different?